An insight into the world of films from a girl obsessed with jellyfish

Day 27 – Romeo + Juliet

I finally managed to sleep. And upon my awakening, decided to continue on with catching up with these movies. So, let’s begin.

Romeo + Juliet. Based on the famous Shakespearean play, the film follows the story of Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet on their struggle to overcome the obstacles in their way of their love.

I don’t like Shakespeare. No offence dude, but your language is just so confusing to me. I’ve seen many a Shakespearean play (what with being a drama student and all) and none have impressed me. It’s very rare that a film based on one of his plays would impress me either.

Now, I don’t think I enjoyed the film. But I can’t say I hated it either. It was certainly the easiest Shakespearean production I’ve ever watched, so in that sense I enjoyed it more than a lot of other attempts I’ve watched. But in the end, it’s Shakespeare. Unless it was a damn good attempt of Midsummer’s Night Dream (the only Shakespeare play I truly enjoy) you’re really not going to get a vote from me.

That being said, I can see a lot of things right with this film. Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes were a very good Romeo and Juliet. I found this very relieving, seeing as the last time I saw a rendition of this play, I could have killed the whining Juliet and just didn’t really connect with the boring Romeo. I did find myself really wanting the story to end for these two. They make a beautiful couple. But, alas, this was not to be.

It was also the best modern adaption of a Shakespearean play I’ve seen. Well, no I lie there. The BBC’s Macbeth with James McAvoy is easily the best. But this is a close second. The party scene was nicely done. That was my main issue with the last modern adaption I’ve seen. So I applaud the film for that. The guns were a little bit too much though, but you can’t win them all.

I do have to say though, the acting in the film was just a little too overdone for me. That’s the problem with trying to do a Shakespearean play. You have to overdo it for it to make sense. And that just does my head in. The whole thing was just far too energetic for me, with the exception of the romantic scenes that were just right. So at least they got one thing right…

I must admit though. I wasn’t expecting the tiny twist of the tale at the end. It’s not something that’s going to ruin the film for you, because we all know the outcome of Romeo and Juliet: they both die. It’s said right at the beginning of the film, so don’t worry. But it came as a bit of a shock that in this version, Juliet watches Romeo die. That made my heart twinge that teeny tiny bit. But then she killed herself and I stopped caring again. I’m so heartless.

There’s not much more I have to say. It’s that time of the blog where I have to admit that I have no opinion on it. I can see why a lot of people like it, but I just don’t think I like it. Nonetheless, it is worth a watch, just so you can say you have.

I thought this was an interesting idea for modernizing Shakespeare while keeping the language the same. I think I personally prefer the opposite: modernizing the language while keeping the setting the same. Things have changed so much since that time that it’s practically a different language. But this movie is very stylish and I thought it was great when I first saw it. It also helped that I was about the same age as Claire Danes and had a huge crush on her.

I can’t think of any off the top of my head like that, closest thing is several completely modernized versions, like Hamlet 2000, “O” (Othello), and 10 Things I Hate About You (Taming of the Shrew). My favorite classic adaptation of a Shakespeare play is Kenneth Brannah’s Hamlet.